The seeds of Cuscuta chinensis, Cuscutae Semen, are commonly used as a medicinal material for treating the aching and weakness of the loins and knees, tonifying the defects of the liver and the kidney, and treating the diarrhea due to hypofunction of the kidney and the spleen. Since aching and inflammation are highly correlated with such diseases, the aim of this study is to investigate the possible antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of the seeds of C. chinensis. The antinociceptive effect of the seeds of C. chinensis was evaluated via the acetic acid-induced writhing response and formalin-induced paw licking methods. The anti-inflammatory effect was evaluated via the λ-carrageenan induced mouse paw edema method. The results found that 100 and 500 mg/kg of the methanol extract of the seeds of C. chinensis( CC MeOH ) significantly decreased (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively) the writhing response in the acetic acid assay. Additionally, 20-500 mg/kg of CC MeOH significantly decreased licking time at the early (20 and 100 mg/kg, p < 0.001) and late phases (100 mg/kg, p < 0.01; 500 mg/kg, p < 0.001) of the formalin test, respectively. Furthermore, CC MeOH (100 and 500 mg/kg) significantly decreased (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively) edema paw volume four hours after λ-carrageenan had been injected. The results in the following study also revealed that the anti-inflammatory mechanism of CC MeOH may be due to declined levels of NO and MDA in the edema paw by increasing the activities of SOD, GPx and GRd in the liver. In addition, CC MeOH also decreased IL-1β, IL-6, NF-κB, TNF-α, and COX-2 levels. This is the first study to demonstrate the possible mechanisms for the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of CC MeOH in vivo. Thus, it provides evidence for the treatment of Cuscutae Semen in inflammatory diseases.

A.D.) . 1) Depending on the therapeutic application, the same plant material can be processed differently. The processing of materials is thought to have the following functions: reduction of toxicity and side effects, to potentiate biological effects, to change properties or functions, to preserve the active constituents, to facilitate the administration, to correct an unpleasant taste or to increase its purity by reduction of contaminations such as soil.2) In current TCM practice, all the materials are strictly required to be properly processed before using for therapeutic application. Understanding the metabolic changes during processing is of great important for quality control Chinese medicinal herbal materials.Rehmannia glutinosa LIBOSCH. (Scrophulariaceae) is one of the most popular medicinal plants whose roots used in TCM for treating of metabolic related disorders. According to the traditional uses, Rehmanniae radix has curing activity on disorders of liver and kidneys, hectic fever, night sweat and dizziness.3) It has been reported that Rehmanniae radix has a wide range of clinical activities including haemostatic, promoting blood coagulation, cardiotonic, diuretic and antiinflammatory activities.4) Hypoglycemic effects, 5,6) anti-tumor activity, 7,8) immediate type allergic reaction inhibition, 9) and tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) secretion inhibiting activity 3) were also found in the extracts of R. glutinosa roots.In addition, Rehmanniae radix stimulates the proliferation and activities of osteoblasts, suggesting a potential to treat osteoporosis by enhancing the metabolism. 10)There are two types of Rehmanniae radix used as medicinal herb, a non-processed (dried root) and a processed one. They are used in quite different therapeutic applications and the choice is strictly defined in TCM theory and practice. The dried, non-processed Rehmanniae radix has a "cold" property according to TCM theory. It means that Rehmanniae radix is able to cure "heat" symptoms. In the modern literature, these non-processed roots have reported to have the following major pharmacological effects such as the effects on plasma corticosterone concentration and preventing the adrenal cortex from atrophy in rabbits 11); a cardiac effect in the isolated frog heart model 12); anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects in rat 12) and an hypoglycemic activity in spontaneous diabetic mice.13) However, the processed Rehmanniae radix treated by steaming and drying for several cycles (generally nine times) have a slightly "warm" property that means Rehmanniae radix is good for treatment of "cold" symptoms. The major pharmacological effect has been reported to prevent an induction of impediment in the peripheral microcirculation against various chronic diseases through the improvement of hemorheology, 14,15) Recently, three 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) derivates have been found in processed Rehmanniae radix only. 5-Hydroxymethyl-2-furfural, one of three 5-HMF derivates which obtained by thermal degradation of saccharine is a...

The biological activity of the edible basidiomycete Antrodia cinnamomea (AC) has been studied extensively. Many effects, such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities, have been reported from either crude extracts or compounds isolated from AC. However, research addressing the function of AC in enhancing immunity is rare. The aim of the present study is to investigate the active components and the mechanism involved in the immunostimulatory effect of AC. We found that polysaccharides (PS) in the water extract of AC played a major role in dendritic cell (DC) activation, which is a critical leukocyte in initiating immune responses. We further size purified and identified that the high-molecular weight PS fraction (greater than 100 kDa) exhibited the activating effect. The AC high-molecular weight PSs (AC hmwPSs) promoted pro-inflammatory cytokine production by DCs and the maturation of DCs. In addition, DC-induced antigen-specific T cell activation and Th1 differentiation were increased by AC hmwPSs. In studying the molecular mechanism, we confirmed the activation of the MAPK and NF-κB pathways in DCs after AC hmwPSs treatment. Furthermore, we demonstrated that TLR2 and TLR4 are required for the stimulatory activity of AC hmwPSs on DCs. In a mouse tumor model, we demonstrated that AC hmwPSs enhanced the anti-tumor efficacy of the HER-2/neu DNA vaccine by facilitating specific Th1 responses. Thus, we conclude that hmwPSs are the major components of AC that stimulate DCs via the TLR2/TLR4 and NF-κB/MAPK signaling pathways. The AC hmwPSs have potential to be applied as adjuvants.

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Two new cardenolides, kalantubolide A (1) and kalantubolide B (2), and two bufadienolide glycosides, kalantuboside A (3) and kalantuboside B (4), as well as eleven known compounds were isolated and characterized from the EtOH extract of Kalanchoe tubiflora. The structures of compounds were assigned based on 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analyses including HMQC, HMBC, and NOESY. Biological evaluation indicated that cardenolides (1-2) and bufadienolide glycosides (3-7) showed strong cytotoxicity against four human tumor cell lines (A549, Cal-27, A2058, and HL-60) with IC50 values ranging from 0.01 µM to 10.66 µM. Cardenolides (1-2) also displayed significant cytotoxicity toward HL-60 tumor cell line. In addition, compounds 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 blocked the cell cycle in the G2/M-phase and induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells.

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Litsea cubeba L., also named as Makauy, is a traditional herb and has been used as cooking condiment or tea brewing to treat diseases for aborigines. The present study was undertaken to explore the chemical compositions of the fruit essential oil of L. cubeba (LCEO) and the immunomodulatory effect of LCEO on dendritic cells and mice. The LCEO was analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with direct injection (DI/GC) or headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME/GC). In total, 56 components were identified, of which 48 were detected by DI/GC and 49 were detected by HS-SPME/GC. The principal compounds were citral (neral and geranial). An immunosuppressive activity of LCEO was investigated with bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) which have a critical role to trigger the adaptive immunity. Additionally, the inhibitory effect of LCEO on immune response was elucidated by performing the contact hypersensitivity (CHS) responses in mice. Our results clearly showed that LCEO decreases the production of TNF-α and cytokine IL-12 in a dose-dependent manner in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated DCs. CHS response and the infiltrative T cells were inhibited in the tested ears of the mice co-treated with LCEO. We demonstrate, for the first time, that the LCEO mainly containing citral exhibits an immunosuppressive effect on DCs and mice, indicating that LCEO can potentially be applied in the treatment of CHS, inflammatory diseases, and autoimmune diseases.

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